


A Fire, Burning too Hot to Extinguish

by elizabethemerald



Series: ATLA Stories [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:28:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24480520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elizabethemerald/pseuds/elizabethemerald
Summary: Immediately following the sabotage of Zuko's ship, when Iroh assumed him lost.
Relationships: Iroh & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: ATLA Stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1768270
Comments: 19
Kudos: 202





	A Fire, Burning too Hot to Extinguish

Zuko dragged himself out of the water with a growl and a groan. Everything hurt. Every part of his body had a separate ache and shooting pain. He turned over onto his side as well as he was able to glare at the burning remains of his ship. 

Zhao. 

General Zhao was the only one who would have been so bold, yet so cowardly to hire pirates to sabotage his ship. The water that had soaked into his armor started to evaporate and turn to steam as Zuko dragged himself further up the shore, his rage heating the air around him. He breathed out another groan and sparks fell from his mouth. He was going to kill Zhao, whatever it took. 

Zuko tried to stand his fists clenched before he collapsed with a grunt of pain. He would kill Zhao, but maybe he would just lie there on the sand for another few minutes. He had burns all over his body, and probably a few broken ribs, but he wasn’t going to let any of that stop him, at least not for too long. 

After a few more minutes of laying face down in the sand, soaking in his pain and anger he pressed himself back to his feet. If he wasn’t careful he would melt the sand into glass just from laying there, and he couldn’t risk any sign that he had survived showing. Zhao had to think he was dead. He quickly scuffed the imprint of his body away and walked back towards town. 

Every step was agony and Zuko growled past gritted teeth, small embers pouring out of his mouth with each breath, yet still he walked. Zuko had felt much worse. None of his current injuries hurt as badly as when his father had burned his face. He hadn’t let his scar stop him from hunting the Avatar and he wouldn’t let Zhao’s betrayal stop him either. 

It felt like a century but soon enough he found himself at the edge of town. He knew he couldn’t let anyone see him alive, but he needed weapons, armor if he was to face Zhao. He was sure he could scavenge some from the wreck of his ship, if he could get there without being spotted. The ever present glow of the burning wreckage drew him like a moth to a lamp. 

He was almost to the docks when he saw a massive gout of flame shoot into the sky, coupled with a roar. The dying flames of the ship brightened as well illuminating the night. Zuko ducked into an alley way. That could only be a fire bender. A powerful one. 

He was in no condition to be fighting someone right now, especially someone with that level of control. He pressed himself further back into the darkness as someone’s rapid steps approached. It would have been smarter to hide completely, but he was curious who had found their way down to the docks to celebrate his supposed death. 

Zuko watched from the shadows as the figure approached, back lit by the flames of the ship. Only able to make out the siluet he couldn’t tell who the mysterious bender was. Until another gout of flame poured from the bender’s mouth illuminating their face. 

“Uncle.” Zuko whispered. There was a rage on his uncle’s face the likes of which he had never seen before. He leaned out of the shadows catching his uncle’s attention. 

“Uncle!” Zuko called hoarsely. 

Iroh spun on his heel bringing a flaming fist up. Iroh’s face was marked with lines of tears down his face, the grief turning to rage, then surprise upon recognizing Zuko.

“Zuko?” Iroh said softly, allowing the flames at his fist to die. 

“Uncle, we need to hrmgh-” 

His words were cut off as he was suddenly pulled into a tight hug as Iroh wrapped his arms around him. Zuko tried to hide his grunt of pain as his many bruises and injuries all suddenly screamed in pain at the sudden contact. Iroh held him at an arms length for a moment, before pulling him to a second softer hug. 

“How did you survive?” Iroh whispered, his voice still marked by grief. 

“I’m not that easy to kill.” Zuko said. Despite himself, he leaned into his uncle’s hug. Everything hurt, but at least in a world where everyone else was out to get him, he still had his uncle. “Where were you going in such a hurry?”

“Obviously Zhao is the only man who could be responsible for this.” Iroh muttered as he pulled Zuko further into the alley and with a small fire in his hand began inspecting his injuries. “I was going to go to his camp and kill him for taking your life.”

“Uncle!” Zuko had never heard his uncle speak like that, about anyone. But now as his uncle tried his best to hide the signs of his grief behind a business like manner attending to the injuries, Zuko could clearly remember the look of absolute rage on Iroh’s face when he had walked by. He was sure if another Fire Nation soldier had stood in his place that soldier would not have survived. 

Zuko pulled his uncle into another brief hug. He knew well what a person might feel pushed to do in their grief and rage, when the pain seems like it is more than they can take. He gives his uncle a slight squeeze before releasing him. 

“Now Prince Zuko we need to come up with a new plan.” Iroh said. His business air put off slightly by a small line of tears cutting tracks through the soot on his face. Zuko nodded nonetheless and didn’t call attention to it again. 

“Yes, Uncle. And I think I have an idea.”


End file.
